Maple-Orange Chicken With Acorn Squash and Sweet Potatoes

Submitted by KelBel

"From food tv show "Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller". A slow cooker meal that has a lot of flavor and color. A complete meal in one pot."

 

• Ready In: 4hrs 15mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 5

ingredients

• 1 acorn squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 leeks, rinsed and chopped
• 5 (4 ounce) skinless chicken thighs (with or without bone)
• salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup orange marmalade
• 1⁄2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1⁄2 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

directions

1. Place squash and sweet potatoes and leeks in the slow cooker. Season chicken all over with salt and black pepper and place on top of vegetables in slow cooker.
2. In a medium bowl, combine orange marmalade and remaining ingredients. Pour mixture over chicken and vegetables.
3. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours or on HIGH for 2 hours.

Reviews

[DinnerBelle]

I made this pretty much as written, except that I braised the leeks and chicken in a bit of oil before putting them in the pot, for softer flavor and because I hate that pasty white look of poached chicken. I used breast, not thighs, because that's what I had, and added them to the pot with 2 hours left to go. Next time I'll use thighs; they are definitely better for slow cooking. I'll also use butternut squash for ease of peeling: no discernable flavor difference to me. The sauce was great, I served with brown rice and it was a big hit.

 

[Martha Cooks]

I saw this also on Food TV. She didn't peel the acorn squash on the show. But, the recipe on FoodNetwork.com also says to peel the squash. That was the one thing that made me hate preparing this meal. It was a TOTAL beast to prepare the squash. The squash and the sweet potatoes ended up tasting very similar. So, I think that next time I'll either leave the peel on the cubes or just go with sweet potato. I started with frozen chicken breasts and went on low for 5 hours. I should have gone with 4 hours because I think that the extra time dried out the chicken. I would go with 3 hours if I started with thawed chicken. I would also add more salt to bring out the flavors. I took the liquid and boiled it with a cornstarch slurry to thicken it. The sauce was delicious over everything. 2 leeks was way too much for my taste. This dish would be fine with just one. I debated whether to give 3 or 4 stars. This would be a 4 star for sure with the changes made. Thanks for posting!

 

[Judy in San Antonio]

This dish was very delicious, but there was way too much sauce. Next time I make this (and I will definitely be making this again!), I'll probably halve the liquids. I was able to take the leftover liquid and braise some additional chicken thighs. The veg to chicken ratio was rather high, but that may be due to the size of my sweet potatoes and squash. Still, an amazingly tasty crockpot dish!

 

[PaulaG]

The aroma that filled the house was amazing. I cooked this on low for 3 hours, starting with frozen boneless chicken thighs. The leek I was using was quite large so I also opted to use only one. The dish is not overly sweet which was a pleasant surprise. There was lots of wonderful cooking liquid which I poured into a pan, added about 1 1/2 teaspoon arrowroot starch and thickened for gravy. Thanks KelBel for a delicious dinner.

 

[bakedapple42]

I made this recipe for my family of six, and so doubled the ingredients. I only put in one leek, chopped, because the leeks I had were quite large and two would have overpowered the dish. It turned out tasting o.k., but a little bland. Next time I'd add salt to bring out the flavor of the other ingredients, and increase the hoisin sauce to add more zing.